Pulse Diagnosis

Front 1

Normal Pulse

Back 1

Frequency: 4-5 beats per breath.

Location: Neither floating nor deep.

Force: Soft and forceful.

Rhythm: Equal intervals.

Front 2

Floating Pulse
(Superficial)

Back 2

1) Pulse character

It is just like the wood floating in water

2) Clinic meaning-Exterior or deficiency

A. Floating and tight-exterior excess cold

(exterior excess, cold attack)

B. Floating and moderate-exterior deficiency

cold (exterior deficiency, wind attack)

C. Floating and rapid-- wind heat

Front 3

Hollow Pulse

Back 3

1) Pulse character

It is similar to the leaf of green

Chinese onion which is hollow.

2) Clinic meaning-Loss of blood and

yin depletion.

Front 4

Tympanic pulse

Back 4

1) Pulse character

The pulse is large, rapid, forceful,

and hollow. It looks like touching the

surface of a drum.

2) Clinic meaning-blood deficiency and

essence exhaustion.

Front 5

Scattered Pulse

Back 5

1) Pulse character

It looks like the flower flying in the

air without trace.

2) Clinic meaning-escaping of yang

and floating of vital qi.

Front 6

Soggy Pulse

Back 6

1) Pulse character

The pulse is floating, thready, and

soft. If pressed, it looks like the

cotton in water.

2) Clinic meaning-dampness, deficiency of

stomach qi, yin and blood.

Front 7

Deep Pulse

Back 7

1) Pulse character

Weak by touching and strong by

pressing. It looks like the stone in

the bottom of water.

2) Clinic meaning-interior.

Forceful and deep-interior excess.

Weak and deep-interior deficiency.

Front 8

Hidden Pulse

Back 8

1) Pulse character

Only by heavily pressing to bone,

the pulse can be felt.

2) Clinic meaning: Interior.

Front 9

Firm Pulse

Back 9

1) Pulse character

The pulse is characterized by hard,

firm and fixed vessel which is

located in the deep level.

2) Clinic meaning: Interior excess cold.

It is often found in abdominal mass,

lumps, and hernia.

Front 10

Slow Pulse

Back 10

1) Pulse character

The pulse rate is less than 4 beats

per breath.

2) Clinic meaning: Cold syndrome.

Slow and forceful-excess cold.

Slow and weak-deficient cold.

Front 11

Moderate Pulse

Back 11

1) Pulse character

The pulse rate is 4 beats per breath

and moves smoothly.

2) Clinic meaning: wind or dampness

attack, or a recovering condition.

Front 12

Choppy Pulse
(sluggish pulse, uneven pulse, hesitant pulse)

Back 12

1) Pulse character: Slow, not smooth, thready,
irregular. The feeling of the pulse is just like
that of scraping a bamboo with a little knife.

2) Clinic meaning: qi stagnation, blood stasis,

phlegm or food retention, body fluid

deficiency, blood deficiency.

Front 13

Dai mai

Back 13

1) Pulse character

The pulse is slow with regular

intermittence.

2) Clinic meaning:

Visceral exhaustion or expiring

spleen qi.

Front 14

Jie mai

Back 14

1) Pulse character

The pulse is slow with irregular

intermittence.

2) Clinic meaning:

Exorbitant yin, qi stagnation, blood

stasis, phlegm retention, decline of

qi and blood.

Front 15

Cu mai

Back 15

1) Pulse character

The pulse is rapid with irregular

intermittence.

2) Clinic meaning:

Yang hyperfunction, excess heat, blood

stasis, phlegm, food retention, and qi

rebellion.

Front 16

Rapid pulse

Back 16

1) Pulse character

The pulse rate is 6 to 7 beats per

breath.

2) Clinic meaning: Heat.

Thready and rapid-deficient heat.

Forceful and rapid-excess heat.

Front 17

Swift Pulse

Back 17

1) Pulse character

The pulse rate is more than 7 beats

per breath.

2) Clinic meaning: Heat.

Front 18

Bouncing pulse

Back 18

1) Pulse character

The pulse rate is rapid and slippery. At
the guan portion, the pulsation is
forceful and is like a bean bouncing in
the vessels.

2) Clinic meaning: Frightened, pain,
fever, and bleeding.

Front 19

Weak Pulse

Back 19

1) Pulse character

The vessel is thick and soft. The
pulsation is forceless either light
touched or heavy pressed. When
palpating, the vessel feels hollow.

2) Clinic meaning: Deficiency

Front 20

Theady Pulse

Back 20

1) Pulse character

The vessel is thin and soft like a

thread.

2) Clinic meaning:

Deficiency, cold attack, pain, and

dampness.

Front 21

Faint Pulse

Back 21

1) Pulse character
The vessel is extremely thin and soft.
It seems to be felt or not be felt. If
pressing, the vessel and pulse
become vague.

2) Clinic meaning:

Yang exhaustion, heavy qi and blood
deficiency.

Front 22

Feeble pulse

Back 22

1) Pulse character

The pulse is soft, deep, and thin. It can
only be felt in deep level. If more
strength is put, the pulse is vague.

2) Clinic meaning:

Yang, qi, and blood deficiency.

Especially qi deficiency.

Front 23

Short Pulse

Back 23

1) Pulse character

The pulse could not be felt in all three
portions. The pulse in cun or chi, or
both of them is absent.

2) Clinic meaning:

Qi diseases, qi deficiency or
stagnation, food or phlegm retention.

Front 24

Strong Pulse

Back 24

1) Pulse character

The pulse is forceful in all the three
portions no matter at what level.

2) Clinic meaning:

Excess.

Front 25

Wiry pulse

(taut pulse)

Back 25

1) Pulse character

The vessel is long, straight and
stretched like a string stretched on a
violin.

2) Clinic meaning:

Disorder of liver and gallbladder, pain,
malaria, phlegm, and food retention.

Front 26

Tight pulse

Back 26

1) Pulse character

It feels like fingers on a tightened
cord.

2) Clinic meaning:

Cold and pain.

Front 27

Long pulse

Back 27

1) Pulse character

The pulsation can be felt in more than
three portions.

2) Clinic meaning:

Excess

Front 28

Slippery pulse

(rolling pulse)

Back 28

1) Pulse character

The pulse moves quickly and smoothly
like pearls rolling on a dish.

2) Clinic meaning:

Phlegm, food retention, excess heat,

pregnancy or menstruation.

Front 29

Surge pulse

Back 29

1) Pulse character

The pulse is large and forceful like
roaring waves which come on
powerfully and fade away.

2) Clinic meaning:

Excess heat.